Ashes Are Still Months Away, but the Pakistan Series is Here and Now

We are currently in the middle of test series against Pakistan, but all the media seem to care about is whether any of the hospital ward load of injured players will be fit to play in the ashes series in Australia this winter.

This attitude is short-sighted and self-defeating. This England team won the ashes by winning four series in a row, which then gave them the confidence to challenge the mighty Australians as unquestionably the second best team in the world. Since then that mantle has passed to Pakistan, a team which turned England over 2-0 at their place, a team whose star has risen as England's has fallen.

The ashes should be a contest between the two best teams in the world, if we fail to beat Pakistan on home soil, it will be something less than that. This will devalue the ashes and cheat the fans from both countries who have already bought tickets for the forthcoming series.